We’ve got another exciting Western Conference matchup on the NBA schedule as the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to tip at 8 p.m. ET on Monday at Paycom Center. Oklahoma City is 42-9 overall and 24-3 at home, while New Orleans is 12-40 overall and 4-22 on the road. Oklahoma City has dominated this series in recent years, winning nine of the last 10 meetings against the Pelicans.
The Thunder are favored by 15.5 points in the latest Thunder vs. Pelicans odds via SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 236 points. Before entering any Pelicans vs. Thunder picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 17 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 147-104 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 18-9 (67%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on New Orleans vs. Oklahoma City. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
- Thunder vs. Pelicans spread: Thunder -15.5
- Thunder vs. Pelicans over/under: 236 points
- Thunder vs. Pelicans money line: Thunder: -1266, Pelicans: +785
- Thunder vs. Pelicans picks: See picks here
- Thunder vs. Pelicans streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why the Pelicans can cover
The Pelicans are headed into Monday’s matchup looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their eighth straight game on Saturday. They fell to the Kings 123-118. New Orleans was up 29-9 in the first quarter but couldn’t hold on to the lead.
Despite the defeat, the Pelicans had strong showings from Zion Williamson, who went 16 for 21 en route to 40 points, and CJ McCollum, who went 6 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 31 points, six rebounds and two blocks. The Pelicans enter Monday’s matchup averaging 110.2 points per game on offense. See which team to pick here.
Why the Thunder can cover
The Thunder waltzed into their game on Saturday with four straight wins but left with five. The Thunder walked away with a 125-112 win over Memphis. Oklahoma City pushed the score to 104-83 by the end of the third, a deficit Memphis cut but never quite recovered from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Thunder to victory, but perhaps none more so than Aaron Wiggins, who shot 8-for-13 from downtown and dropped a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Wiggins continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points along with eight assists and two blocks. Gilgeous-Alexander leads the NBA in scoring with 32.7 points per game on average. See which team to pick here.
How to make Pelicans vs. Thunder picks
The model has simulated Thunder vs. Pelicans 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under the total, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that hits in nearly 70% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Pelicans vs. Thunder, and which side of the spread hits almost 70% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 147-104 roll on top-rated NBA picks since last season, and find out.